When I called my mom to tell her about Cap, we both cried. She confirmed she knew—Colleen had told her he was terminal when they spoke—but she also knew me well enough to know if she told me, I wouldn’t have wanted to come.
She wasn’t wrong.
I would have doubted the need to meet a dying man in the midst of our life falling apart even if he was my biological father.
For once, I’m glad she lied.
“Why the hell you bringing me down here?” Sunny blasts the snarl on her face with her mister fan. “You know I hate a damn boat. And it’s hot.”
I squint at the worn exterior ofThe Gypsy, not budging from the dock. “Nash had to work.”
Actually, Nash had a meeting about his new location, but I’m forcing myself not to think about that right now. My broken heart can only handle so much, and the thought of Nash not being next to me every day for the rest of my life might push me off an emotional cliff.
“Plus,” I continue over her muttered swears, “since you hate boats so much, you’ll have good ideas on how to get rid of this thing.”
It might have broken Cap’s exhausted heart if he were here, but I’m not keeping the boat. I’m sure he knew that when he signed the papers leaving it to me.
Only I can’t bring myself to take the step from the dock that will get me onto it. If I stand here long enough, maybe he’llcough then grunt and hobble out of the hatch the way he did the first day I showed up.
My phone rings from my pocket; it’s Dirk.
“Hey, Dirk,” I answer.
“I did some digging,” he says.
The boat rocks as I climb aboard. I gesture for Sunny to do the same but she refuses.
Dirk continues. “Looks like you’re onto something with that gold.”
I pause at the hatch. “How’s that?”
“Interesting case. There was a reward, but it wasn’t issued by the federal government. It was issued by one of the banks involved. A Richmond, Virginia bank that went on to be bought by what is now US Trust Bank.”
“US Trust?” I blow my bangs. “That’s a huge bank.” If I’m not wrong, it’s the largest bank chain in the country.
“It is,” he says. “And from what I’m seeing, they never terminated the reward.”
“Meaning?” I wipe my already sweaty brow with my forearm.
“Meaning whoever finds this is getting a huge payday.”
I laugh ironically. Good for them. “Okay. Well, not sure it’s going anywhere, but thanks.”
“Happy to help.”
I start to hang up, but my eyes catch on the Danimal’s metal mechanisms. “Hey, Dirk?”
“Yeah?”
“Will these coins be easy to recognize?” I ask. “If they were found, I mean.”
“Oh, you’ll know,” he says with a tone that makes me think I really would. “Majority of it was twenty-dollar double eagles, most minted in Charlotte before the war. One side is Lady Liberty, the other a heraldic eagle.”
“Lady Liberty?” I ask, Sunny shouting for me tohurry the hell up!from the dock.
“Profile of a woman,” he says. “She’s wearing a crown that says liberty. Stars border the perimeter.”
We end the call, but there’s a familiarity in it that I can’t place. It also sounds like every coin that’s ended up in a display case at Old Vines.
